Courtesy of the Joseph and Helen Guetterman collection; photograph, John H. Gerard/EB Inc.

History

Arsenic was known in the form of certain of its compounds long before it was clearly recognized as a chemical element. In the 4th century bce Aristotle wrote of a substance called sandarache, now believed to have been the mineralrealgar, a sulfide of arsenic. Then, in the 1st century ce, the writers Pliny the Elder and Pedanius Dioscorides both described auripigmentum, a substance now thought to have been the dyestuff orpiment, As2S3. By the 11th century ce three species of “arsenic” were recognized: white (As4O6), yellow (As2S3), and red (As4S4). The element itself possibly was first observed in the 13th century by Albertus Magnus, who noted the appearance of a metal-like substance when arsenicum, another name for As2S3, was heated with soap. It is not certain, however, that this natural scientist and scholar actually observed the free element. The first clearly authentic report of the free substance was made in 1649 by Johann Schroeder, a German pharmacist, who prepared arsenic by heating its oxide with charcoal. Later, Nicolas Lémery, a French physician and chemist, observed the formation of arsenic when heating a mixture of the oxide, soap, and potash. By the 18th century, arsenic was well known as a unique semimetal.

Occurrence and distribution

The abundance of arsenic in the Earth’s crust is about five grams per ton; the cosmic abundance is estimated as about four atoms per million atoms of silicon. The element is widely distributed. A small amount exists in the native state, in 90–98 percent purity, generally in association with such metals as antimony and silver. Most, however, is combined in more than 150 different minerals, as sulfides, arsenides, sulfoarsenides, and arsenites. Mispickel, or arsenopyrite, FeAsS, is among the most common of arsenic-bearing minerals; others are realgar, As4S4; orpiment, As2S3; loellingite, FeAs2; and enargite, Cu3AsS4. Arsenic oxide is also common. Most commercial arsenic is recovered as a by-product of the smelting of copper, lead, cobalt, and gold ores.

Only one stable isotope of arsenic, that of mass 75, occurs in nature. Among the artificial radioactive isotopes is one of mass 76, which has a half-life of 26.4 hours. Arsenic-72, -74, and -76 have been used in medical diagnostic procedures.

Commercial production and uses

Metallic arsenic forms when arsenopyrite is heated at 650–700 °C in the absence of air. The arsenic in arsenopyrite and the arsenic impurities in other metal ores unite readily with oxygen when heated in air, forming the easily sublimed oxide, As4O6, also known as “white arsenic.” The vapour of the oxide is collected and condensed in a series of brick chambers and later purified by resublimation. Most arsenic is prepared by carbonreduction of the arsenious oxide dust thus collected.

World consumption of metallic arsenic is relatively small, only a few hundred tons per year. Most of what is consumed comes from Sweden. It is used in metallurgical applications because of its metalloid properties. About one percent arsenic content is desirable in the manufacture of lead shot, for example, because it improves the roundness of the molten drops. Bearing alloys based on lead are improved in both thermal and mechanical properties when they contain about 3 percent arsenic. A small amount of arsenic in lead alloys hardens them for use in batteries and cable sheathing. Small concentrations of arsenic improve the corrosion resistance and thermal properties of copper and brass. Elemental arsenic is also used in bronzing and in pyrotechnics.Very highly purified arsenic finds applications in semiconductor technology, where it is used with silicon and germanium, as well as in the form of galliumarsenide, GaAs, for diodes, lasers, and transistors.

Because arsenic has a range of oxidation states from -3 to +5, it can form a variety of different kinds of compounds. Among the most important commercial compounds are the oxides, the principal forms of which are arsenious oxide (As4O6) and arsenic pentoxide (As2O5). Arsenious oxide, commonly known as white arsenic, is obtained as a by-product from the roasting of the ores of copper, lead, and certain other metals as well as by the roasting of arsenopyrite and arsenic sulfide ores. Arsenious oxide provides the starting material for most other arsenic compounds. It is also utilized in pesticides and serves as a decolourizer in the manufacture of glass and as a preservative for hides. Arsenic pentoxide is formed by the action of an oxidizing agent (e.g., nitric acid) on arsenious oxide. It comprises a major ingredient of insecticides, herbicides, and metal adhesives.

Arsine (AsH3), a colourless poisonous gas composed of arsenic and hydrogen, is another familiar arsenic compound. The gas, also called arsenic hydride, is produced by the hydrolysis of metal arsenides and by the reduction by metals of arsenic compounds in acidic solutions. It has been used as a doping agent for semi-conductors and as a military poison gas. Arsenic compounds of particular importance in agriculture are arsenic acid (H3AsO4) and such salts as lead arsenate (PbHAsO4) and calcium arsenate [Ca3(AsO4)2], which are useful for sterilizing soils and controlling pests, respectively.

Arsenic also forms numerous organic compounds, as for example tetramethyl diarsine, (CH3)2As−As(CH3)2, used in preparing the common desiccant cacodylic acid. Several complex organic compounds of arsenic have been employed in the treatment of certain diseases, such as amebic dysentery, caused by microorganisms.

Properties and reactions

In its most stable elemental state, arsenic is a steel-gray, brittle solid with low thermal and electrical conductivity. Although some forms of elemental arsenic are metal-like, the element is best classified as a nonmetal. Other forms have been reported but are not well characterized, including especially a yellow, metastable form, which may consist of As4 molecules analogous to white phosphorus, P4. Arsenic sublimes at 613 °C, and in the vapour it exists as As4 molecules, which do not begin to dissociate until about 800 °C; dissociation to As2 molecules becomes complete at about 1,700 °C.

The electronic structure of the arsenic atom, 1s22s22p63s23p63d104s24p3, resembles those of nitrogen and phosphorus in that there are five electrons in the outermost shell, but it differs from them in having 18 electrons in the penultimate shell instead of two or eight. The addition of ten positive charges to the nucleus during the filling of the five 3d orbitals frequently causes a general contraction of the electronic cloud and a concomitant increase in electronegativity of the elements. In other groups of the periodic table this is clearly shown. Thus, it seems generally accepted that zinc is more electronegative than magnesium and, similarly, that gallium is more electronegative than aluminum. The difference diminishes, however, in the next groups, and many authorities do not agree that germanium is more electronegative than silicon, although an abundance of chemical evidence appears to indicate that this is so. The similar transition from penultimate 8-shell to 18-shell element in passing from phosphorus to arsenic might also produce an increase in the electronegativity of arsenic over phosphorus, but this remains controversial.

The outer-shell similarity of the two elements suggests that arsenic, like phosphorus, can form three covalent bonds per atom, with an additional lone pair of electrons left unbonded. The oxidation state of arsenic should, therefore, be either +3 or −3 depending on the relative electronegativity values of arsenic and the elements with which it is combined. The possibility should also exist of utilizing the outer d orbitals to expand the octet, thereby allowing arsenic to form five bonds. This possibility is realized only in compounds with fluorine. The availability of the lone pair for complex formation (through electron donation) appears much less in the arsenic atom than in phosphorus and nitrogen, as evidenced by the chemistry of the element.

Arsenic itself is stable in dry air, but in moist air it tends to become coated with a black oxide. Sublimed arsenic vapour readily burns in air to form arsenious oxide. The free element is essentially unaffected by water, bases, or nonoxidizing acids, but it can be oxidized by nitric acid to the +5 state. Halogens attack arsenic, as does sulfur, and the element will combine directly with many metals forming arsenides.

Qualitatively, arsenic may be detected by precipitation as the yellow arsenious sulfide from hydrochloric acid of 25 percent or greater concentration. Trace amounts of arsenic are usually determined by conversion to arsine. The latter can be detected by the so-called Marsh test, in which arsine is thermally decomposed, forming a black arsenic mirror inside a narrow tube, or by the Gutzeit method, in which a test paper impregnated with mercuric chloride darkens when exposed to arsine because of the formation of free mercury.

Biological and physiological significance

The toxicity of arsenic and its compounds varies widely, ranging from the exceedingly poisonous arsine and its organic derivatives (seearsenic poisoning) to elemental arsenic itself, which is relatively inert. Arsenical compounds in general are skin irritants, which easily cause dermatitis. Protection against inhalation of arsenic-containing dusts is recommended, but most poisoning appears to come from ingestion. The maximum tolerable concentration of arsenic in dusts during an eight-hour day is 0.5 milligrams per cubic metre. For arsine, exposure of similar duration requires that the concentration be less than 0.05 parts per million in the air. In addition to the many uses of arsenic compounds as herbicides and pesticides, they have in several instances been employed as pharmacological agents. The first successful antisyphilitic agent, for example, was an arsenic compound, “Salvarsan,” or “606,” or 3,3′-diamino-4,4′-dihydroxyarsenobenzene dihydrochloride.

Element Properties

atomic number

33

atomic weight

74.9216

melting point

(gray form)

814 °C (1,497 °F) at 36 atmospheres pressure

density

(gray form)

5.73 g/cm3 at 14 °C (57 °F)

(yellow form)

2.03 g/cm3 at 18 °C (64 °F)

oxidation states

-3, +3, +5

electron config.

1s22s22p63s23p63d104s24p3

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